


Dear Diary

by newsiesgirllaces



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, sorta coffee shop au-ish, the author just wanted these two together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:09:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4222911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newsiesgirllaces/pseuds/newsiesgirllaces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephanie Brown finds herself homeless and fired and then re-hired in one day. The new coffee shop she works at happens to have a familiar looking old boy wonder working there. Fluffy Jason/Steph stories with very little plot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hectic Day

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy

**Dear Diary,**  
**Well, it happened. The little bird is leaving the nest. Well… not because I want to but because mom is moving to Metropolis and well, a bat shouldn’t be in Metropolis unless she’s supposed to be helping out a super.**  
**Anyway, I told mom that I totally had a place to stay and that I’d be fine. That May have been a teeny tiny lie. I don’t have any place to stay. I’m not staying with O because she has her own problems with the Birds of Prey and I’m not going to harass Tim or Bruce. So I’m being a big girl and going out into the world to find me a beautiful home, or actually an apartment since my two jobs probably can’t pay for a full blown house yet. I can make this work. I, Stephanie Brown, am a responsible adult who is prepared to take on the world.**   
_I am not a responsible adult who is prepared to take on the world._ Stephanie thought as she finished looking at yet another apartment that she knew she couldn’t afford.   
Working at a coffee shop Monday through Friday and having another small job playing piano at a bar and random venues here and there didn’t do much for her bank account. She wasn’t broke but it wasn’t like she was a certain billionaire who could probably bathe in money either.   
_I’ll look around at more places after work._ She thought to herself as she walked into the coffee shop to find her manager, Steve, looking at her apologetically.   
Steve was a nice man. A bit of a hippie, but nice all the same. However, the look on his face didn’t seem like it was baring any good news.  
“What’s up?” she questioned apprehensively, feeling the negative vibe in the air.  
“Stephanie… you’re being transferred to another coffee place.” he informed slowly.  
“Wait… there’s more than one _Patty’s Pastry_ now?” Stephanie questioned, knowing that the shop itself was the only one that she knew of.   
“Well, no. Actually… I had to fire you because of… many different reasons. But I know another coffee shop that’s hiring and I put in a good word about you to them, so they agreed to let you work there.” Steve explained.   
This really wasn’t Stephanie’s day. However, she was grateful that her manager actually found her another job after firing her when he was in no way obligated to do that for her.  
And she knew why she was fired in the first place. Too many people probably started asking questions about why one of the baristas had a black eye and looked overly sleep deprived. It just looked too sketchy for the comfortable and friendly environment the coffee shop was trying to achieve.   
“Alright… thank you for telling me.” Stephanie sighed, but she truly meant her thanks. “Where’s this new coffee place?”   
Steve quickly scribbled down the address and the name of the place. The name being _The Coffee Shop._  
_How original._ Steph thought to herself, then went on her way with a small goodbye.   
_I can’t believe this is all happening today. She thought with a frown. Why can’t bad things happen in small doses stretched out over a period of time instead of all in one day? Fate is cruel._ She pouted, then found herself in front of the new shop.  
It looked fairly bland. A small shop right next to a laundry mat. The windows were large but just from looking through the window, there didn’t seem to be much decoration round the shop.  
Steph opened the door to see only one man behind the counter who was making drinks at the moment. There also were only two customers. Both seated and waiting for their drinks.   
Stephanie stared at the man behind the counter for a second. He had piercing green eyes, black hair that curled around his forehead and ears and he was built like an ox. He was very attractive, but that wasn’t why Stephanie was staring.   
_My god he is beautiful._ Okay, she was staring at him because he was attractive but for another reason as well. _He looks… familiar._   
She walked up to the counter and the man smiled politely at her saying,  
“Can you give me a moment?”   
“Sure.” Steph shrugged and the man finished the two drinks, then passed them over to the two waiting customers. Swiftly turning around after bidding the two a good day, the barista made it over to Steph in several swift strides.   
“Hello. What can I get you today?” he inquired.  
“A job. I’m here because Steve said that I work here now.” Stephanie informed slowly and the man’s smiling façade swiftly disappeared and he let his head lay on the counter in exhaustion.   
“Thank God you’re here blondie. Running this place single handedly is like a new level of hell.” He sighed.  
“Are you the owner?” Steph inquired and the man lifted up his head to shake it, then plopped it down on the counter again.   
“The owner is out getting supplies. So it’s just been me helping out.” He sighed. His voice was rough and coarse which made Steph believe she heard it before.   
“Well, I’m here to help.” Steph smiled and the man lifted his head once again from the counter to show Steph how to get behind the counter with him.  
“I’m happy you’re here blondie.”  
“It’s actually Stephanie. Stephanie Brown.” She informed holding out her hand to shake. The man had a look of surprise on his face, but he then just smiled. The smile was teasing though, as if she knew something that she didn’t.   
“The name’s Jason.”  
“Jason what?”  
“Just Jason, blondie.” The man, Jason, chuckled. He then went on to see if she knew how to make what they offered and showed her how they made their pumpkin flavored coffee since the fall season was in full swing and people just seemed to loved their pumpkin flavored things. It wasn’t too hard for Steph to remember.   
“You sure I can work here right now without even introducing myself to the boss?” Steph inquired and Jason just chuckled.  
“That old man is just happy to get the help he can.” Jason then perked up when the bell rang and several people walked into the store.   
He swiftly was smiling his charismatic smile as he took their orders and Stephanie started preparing their drinks.   
She couldn’t imagine how Jason was doing this alone, taking the orders and then preparing the different drinks. Preparing each individual drink was already slow enough with only one person doing it.   
After taking the money, Jason helped her complete the order and all the people had their coffee quickly.   
“Huh. So do you only get a costumer here or there?” Steph inquired.  
“So far. This place isn’t really that well known. It just opened a week ago.”  
“I see.”   
The day went on with Steph and Jason joking back and forth and helping out the occasional customer.   
“So Blondie, care to tell why you were fired from your last job when your mocha frap is one of the most beautiful creations I’ve ever seen?” Jason inquired and Steph chuckled.  
“Eh, it’s a bit complicated. Wouldn’t want to bore you with the details.” Steph shrugged. “Anyway, what are you, Mr. Big and Buff, doing here and not a strip club?”   
“Are you implying that I’d be a bouncer at a strip club or doing the actual stripping?”   
“I’m just saying that you don’t look like the barista type.” Steph smirked teasingly and Jason chuckled.   
“Well, the reason is also a bit complicated. I’d be willing to bet money that our complications are similar.” He smirked and Steph raised an eyebrow.  
“Trust me Barista Boy, I don’t think they are. Now where is the boss man? It’s closing time and he’s not back yet.”   
Jason’s mind seemed to snap back by the look on his face, and he suddenly appeared concerned.   
“That isn’t good. He should be back by now.” Jason murmured, then went to the sign and flipped it over to ‘Closed.’   
“I’m going to drive over to where he was picking up the supplies and see if I can find him.”  
“I’ll come with. I still need to finalize actually working here with him.” Steph said as she shrugged on her eggplant colored sweatshirt but Jason shook his head.  
“Come back tomorrow and he’ll be here. It’ll be fine, blondie.” Jason stated as he threw on his leather jacket, but Steph grabbed the collar of it, pulling him back.  
“No. I’m now worried about him too and I don’t even know the man. So I’m tagging along.” She stated sternly. Jason chuckled as he grabbed a duffle bag and handed her a helmet from it.  
“Fine by me. Just hang on tight Blondie, I’d hate to explain to the boss man how his newest employee fell off a motorcycle looking for him.”   
“I have been on a motorcycle before.” Steph said dryly as she followed Jason out.   
“Great, then that’s less to worry about.”   
The two jumped onto the bike and Steph made sure to hold on as Jason sped off. She was fairly certain that he had just broken multiple speed limits as they headed to the warehouse where their employer possibly was.   
Jason pulled up to the old warehouse and Steph gave him an incredulous look.   
“The boss went to this building alone for supplies? It looks so sketchy.”  
“This is Gotham. _Everything_ looks sketchy.” Jason chuckled as they both dismounted the bike. Jason’s chuckle died in his throat when his eyes fell upon an old beaten up truck.  
“Hey, there’s the old man’s car.” Jason stated, pointing to the vehicle.  
“So he must still be in there.” Steph nodded.   
The two entered the building slowly and were enveloped in darkness.   
“I don’t like this.” Steph mumbled as she continued to walk into the building and Jason followed behind her.  
“Me neither, but this place looks empty.”  
“Then why was his car still-” It all clicked in Steph’s mind.  
She had been working on a case involving kidnapping of random people but they weren’t random. They all were involved in small businesses. Small businesses that needed supplies and would come willingly to a warehouse.   
“He’s in here.” She whispered, but just then the doors behind them slammed shut and the lights flickered on.  
“We didn’t expect company for the old man. We haven’t even sunk his car in the river yet.” A man stated.   
Steph and Jason found themselves surrounded by several burly looking men.   
“Well I for one didn’t expect this.” Jason sighed, but Steph then saw him reach under his leather jacket and he pulled out two pistols. “Good thing I always come prepared.”


	2. A Place to Stay and Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Chpt.2  
 **Dear Diary,**

**So today’s been a bit of a hectic day. I still haven’t found a place to live and my boss for a new coffee shop that I sorta started working for has been captured by human smugglers. You know, your typical day in Gotham, I guess. However Jason, Mr. McHottie, who is also working at the coffee shop apparently has guns. And really good aim.**

“Did you just kill everyone in this room with two guns?” Steph inquired, looking at the bodies all around her.

“No. If I killed _everyone_ in the room then you’d be dead too, now let’s see where they’re keeping the boss and all the other people they’ve taken.” Jason stated as he continued to walk deeper into the warehouse. Steph followed after him but now she had a lot more questioned about Jason than she had before.

“Wait, how did you know these that people were behind the kidnappings?” Steph questioned and Jason just smirked. His eyes twinkled with mischief in a way that Steph dubbed as dangerous and totally not attractive no matter how dazzling green his eyes were and the wonderful dimples that the smirk caused on his cheeks.

Nope totally not attractive. 

“Because I’ve also been digging into the case Blondie. Or should I say Batgirl?” Hearing the name made Stephanie nearly stop in her tracks from shock. Not only did the man know that she was Batgirl, but he said it so flippantly it was like her being a fairly high profile superhero was something to sneeze at 

“How did you-”

“Seriously you don’t know who I am? I mean, we’ve never met but I’m sure the bats have talked about me a lot. I tend to be the black sheep of the family.” Jason smirked as he continued walking forward.

“Jason… Jason _Todd_. Red Hood.” Steph whispered and Jason chuckled.

“Yup. That’s me. You know, I’m a bit hurt that you didn’t connect the dots sooner.”

“You make it sound like I’m stupid. Jason is a very popular name and you never told me your last name.” Steph debated, but Jason shook his head, his smirk never slipping off his face.

“Oh c’mon Blondie. Guy named Jason who’s buff and beautiful who can drive a motorcycle _and_ shoots people with guns? I thought it was pretty obvious.”

_Either he knows that I think he’s beautiful or he’s just teasing me. No, don’t think about that Steph. This is no time to start crushing on your co-worker who just so happens to also be a murderous anti-hero._

“Fine it wasn’t one of my best moment.” Steph huffed, trying to calm her pounding heart. “So were you the one who gave me the coffee job or was that a coincidence?” 

“Coincidence. A very wonderful coincidence.” Jason grinned. “I’ve been meaning to team up with you for a while now. You’ve always seemed a lot more fun than the pretender and Dickie-bird.” 

Before Steph could say anything they reached a room where multiple people were blind folded, gagged, and bound. 

“Hey!” a man exclaimed, and Steph and Jason were being shot at be several more men. 

“Can you handle this, Blondie?” Jason inquired as they ducked for cover behind a crate. 

“Watch and learn.” Steph smirked, reaching into her pocket where she kept several batarangs and quickly disarmed the men, then hopped over the crate to take them down. 

_Am I seriously working with the Red Hood right now?_ Steph wondered as she knocked out the last person. She and Jason quickly got to work untying people.

“They’re all sedated with something.” Jason stated, noticing how the captured people were limp and relaxed. 

“Then let’s just call the cops and have them clean all of this up.” Steph said as she took out a phone that Oracle given her (it couldn’t be tracked or redialed) and Jason nodded in agreement. 

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

“So, I don’t think you’ll be talking to the boss today.” Jason said as they headed to the motorcycle before the police showed up. Out of habit, Steph said on the phone that she was Batgirl instead of a concerned citizen so they needed to get out of there. 

“No kidding?” Steph laughed.

“Alright Blondie, well, I’ll see you tomorrow at work. I can drop you off at your home if you want.” 

“Uh… I’m currently kinda homeless. You can drop me off at a cheap motel and I can stay the night there or something.” Steph shrugged and Jason stared at her in surprise.

“Wait _what_?”

“I hear sirens, we should start going on.” Steph said quickly, hopping onto the motorcycle. Jason sighed, but jumped onto his motorcycle and sped off.

Stephanie didn’t want to sound helpless in a situation where she knew that she could make it through. She was a survivor and always had been. Besides, she already had most of the bat-family upset at her for being Batgirl, so she didn’t want Jason feeling like she was inept as well. 

“That motel looks good.” Steph pointed at a place however, Jason continued to drive right passed it. “Or not.” She frowned. However several minutes later Jason was slowing his bike in front of a rundown apartment building. 

“Is this a better motel?” Steph inquired.

“No. This is my apartment. You can crash here until you’re able to get something more permanent.” Jason stated as the two of them dismounted from the bike and Steph looked at him shocked.

“Seriously?”

“I’m serious, Blondie. We work at the same place, do the same vigilante activities, and you don’t piss me off like the rest of the bat family.” Jason shrugged.   
“Not to mention that I’d hate to just kick you off my bike and make you stay at some creepy motel just asking to be murdered.” 

“You’re such a gentleman.” Steph chuckled but then looked at him seriously. “But thank you for this. I could really use a place to stay.” 

Jason led the way as he opened the door to the apartment, letting Steph inside. 

“Ladies first.” He smirked. Steph was about to make another comment about how much of a gentleman Jason was but was overtaken by the sweet aroma of chocolate. 

“Jason, not to sound rude but I didn’t expect to smell chocolate while walking into your apartment.” 

“What? A burly guy like me can’t enjoy cooking?” Jason questioned as he made his way to the kitchen where there were several cupcakes with uneven lumps of frosting on top. They rested on the counter next to the sink, where there were bowls and spoons and other dirty dishes piled together. 

“I’m just surprised you have time to cook.” Steph shrugged while eyeing the cupcake closest to her. 

“I like to keep my hands busy while I’m thinking and I like eating so it’s a win win situation.” Jason smirked as he picked up the cupcake Steph was eyeing and handed it to her, then took one for himself. 

“So you cook while you think? How many nefarious plots have you come up with while making a Crème Brulee?” Steph inquired then bit into the cupcake, humming at the taste of chocolate and… was that coffee?

“Never made Crème Brulee before. But I know my plan for taking out a motorcycle gang happened while making a mean pumpkin bread.” Jason chuckled. “Do you cook, Blondie?” 

“Well, I don’t want to brag but I make some awesome waffles.” Steph smirked and Jason laughed. 

“Waffles, huh? Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about making them then. I don’t make waffles much.” Jason smiled, then finished off the cupcake in his hands. 

“Now, I have a spare room but it just has a mattress on the ground. I can get some blankets for you but is that alright with you? If you’d rather the couch-”

“The spare room sounds great.” Steph stated, smiling. “When I was a kid my dad kept blowing money so I slept on a couch for a while. I’m not picky about where I sleep.” 

Jason raised his eyebrows, obviously intrigued by what Steph said but then dropped the questions he seemed to have. 

“Then let me show you to your room, ma’am.” Jason grinned, walking up the stairs with Steph following behind. 

“This room is mine. So if you need anything and I’m in here just give it a knock. Please don’t just walk in because I might shoot on instinct.”

“Understood.” Steph nodded. They came upon a small room and Jason stated,

“That’s the bathroom. The pipes are… interesting so you might have to let the water run a bit before it’s clear. Also when you flush the toilet, please jiggle the handle. If you don’t the toilet bowl doesn’t fill up with water again.” Jason informed and Steph nodded.

“Alright.”

“And this,” Jason said as he opened a door at the end of the hallway, “Is your room.” 

The room had bright yellow walls that were peeling here and there with a blue mattress in the middle of the room. Light came through the window from the busy street.

“It’s not a comfort inn and suits but it’s better than a creepy motel.” Jason shrugged. “Let me grab you some blankets.”

Jason went out to a closet in the bathroom and came back with some thick blankets. He moved quickly yet still had a nonchalant air about him that made Steph wonder how many times Jason had offered the spare room and went through the rules of how to work the bathroom and knock on his door. 

“Again, thanks for everything, Jason.” Steph grinned, relieving the blankets from Jason’s arms and started making the bed. She felt bad for having him digging around for the blankets so she figured that she could at least make the bed. 

“Not a problem Blondie. I’ll wake you up so we can get to work tomorrow. Hopefully the boss is alright enough to at least meet you.” Jason grinned as he made his way out of the door way. 

“Goodnight. Remember, if you need anything, knock first. Don’t want to accidentally shoot you.” 

Despite the statement being somewhat terrifying, Steph chuckled. 

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Goodnight.”

With that, Jason closed the door, leaving Stephanie some privacy. 

_Well, this definitely wasn’t how I thought my day would have ended._ Steph thought as she wrapped herself in the blanket that smelled a bit like dust and a little like Jason. 

She didn’t know much about Jason, other than that his ways of justice were a bit more strict and that if she was caught staying with him by Batman or Tim, they would have a conniption. Steph didn’t know if she should have been afraid or weary of the man or not. But none the less, he had offered her a place to stay and gave her a cupcake. Both good signs to Steph so for the time being, she would trust Jason. 

After some lingering thoughts about the man who let her stay, Steph drifted softly off to sleep.


End file.
